Multicast over SD-WAN is an important topic in modern networking. Organizations that require efficient distribution of streaming media, video conferencing, or other multicast-type applications over their wide area networks can benefit from multicast capabilities combined with the advantages of SD-WAN.
FortiGate devices offer SD-WAN capabilities with various features that cater to the needs of different types of networks. This includes, among others, the ability to manage multicast traffic.
Here’s an overview of how multicast can be managed on FortiGate devices with SD-WAN:
1. Understand the Basic Concepts:
- Multicast: This is a method of sending network traffic from one source to multiple destinations simultaneously, without replicating the traffic multiple times. The most common multicast protocols are PIM (Protocol Independent Multicast) and IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol).
- SD-WAN: This stands for Software-Defined Wide Area Network. FortiGate SD-WAN provides application steering using dual/multiple WAN interfaces, centralized control, and simplified cloud adoption.
2. Setup:
- FortiGate Configuration:
- SD-WAN Interface: Before you can manage multicast traffic through SD-WAN, set up your SD-WAN interface. Navigate to Network > SD-WAN > SD-WAN Interface and add your WAN interfaces.
- SD-WAN Rules: Rules can be defined to steer traffic. For multicast traffic, you may define rules based on source/destination IP or other criteria to ensure they are routed over the desired WAN link.
- Multicast Policies: On FortiGate devices, multicast traffic management might require separate policies. Navigate to Policy & Objects and ensure that multicast traffic is allowed between the required zones.
3. Enable Multicast Features:
- Enable PIM: To forward multicast traffic, PIM may be needed. This can be enabled on the necessary interfaces. Navigate to Network > Interfaces, select the appropriate interface, and enable PIM under multicast settings.
- IGMP Proxy: If you need to manage multicast memberships, the IGMP proxy feature can be useful. It can be enabled under the interface settings.
4. Monitoring and Troubleshooting:
- Logs: FortiGate devices provide detailed logs that can be used to diagnose any issues related to multicast or SD-WAN. This can be found under Log & Report.
- Diagnostics: Use diagnostic commands like
diagnose ip multicast route listto see multicast routes and other related commands to see group memberships, neighbors, etc.
5. Considerations:
- Bandwidth: Multicast traffic can consume significant bandwidth. Ensure your SD-WAN links have sufficient capacity, especially if streaming high-definition media.
- Compatibility: Not all SD-WAN solutions natively support multicast, so it’s important to ensure compatibility between all your networking devices.
Remember, while FortiGate provides tools and features to handle multicast over SD-WAN, the precise steps and best practices might vary based on your network design, the specific FortiGate model, and the firmware version. It’s always a good idea to refer to the Fortinet documentation or get in touch with their support for specific guidance.
